


it all feels young

by gagreflex



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Bets, Carnival, College, Feelings Realization, Hybrid AU, M/M, Rated teen for swearing, cat hybrid renjun, dog hybrid donghyuck, nomin are just at the beginning, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26179144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gagreflex/pseuds/gagreflex
Summary: It’s just how cats and dogs are: sworn enemies. Anything between the two of them is turned into a competition. It was only a matter of time until they formed a bet over carnival rides.Honestly though? Dogs are kind of cute.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 67





	it all feels young

**Author's Note:**

> so~~ this is a writing swap thing i did with kookies_mochi_babie! where we give each other a prompt. it was really fun to do because i don't just write purely soft things usually so!! enjoy

“Are you going to eat that?” Jaemin questions, leaning over the table and pointing at the half-eaten pastry. Renjun doesn’t even look up from his notebook as he pushes the plate across the table, too focused. Studying with his friends doesn’t get him very far, yet here he is. 

Their talk gradually fades into the background, and Renjun eagerly marks up what he is reading, not knowing when he will lose his concentration again. Maybe studying with his friends, if it could really be considered that, isn’t so bad.

“What class is that for?” Donghyuck breaks his focus, leaning too close to him with a wry smile. The words on the paper stop making sense, and Renjun leans back in his chair, figuring he won’t be able to get any actual studying done until after work. 

Donghyuck is still grinning at him, and his tail is trying to wag, but there isn’t much space for it in his seat. Renjun closes the notebook and answers, “Art history.” 

“Boring,” Donghyuck hums as he finally leans back, swirling his glass of water. It’s still early, but Renjun isn’t in the mood right now as he starts packing up his stuff. Jeno and Jaemin are in their own world, looking at something on Jeno’s phone. “Leaving already?”

Renjun pauses, trying to read the tone, but there doesn’t seem to be anything behind it. “Yeah.” That gets Jeno and Jaemin to look up. “I’ll just see you guys tomorrow or something.” 

They say their farewells, although Donghyuck sticks out his tongue, and Renjun barely catches it. While walking by, he grabs Donghyuck’s chair and pulls it away from the table. When he reaches the employee’s room, Renjun looks behind him, but Donghyuck seems content sitting that far away from the table. 

After putting on an apron and clocking in, Renjun stands behind the counter, waiting. Not many students stop by the cafe this late, which is nice, but it gets boring. Renjun glances around at the tables, trying to see if any of his friends are still here. Donghyuck appears before him, seemingly out of nowhere. 

“Why are you still here?” Renjun questions, although there’s no bite, as he reels back. 

“Well, the carnival opens this weekend.” Donghyuck rests his chin on his hand, and Renjun has an idea as to where this is going. He waits for Donghyuck to continue, but he doesn’t.

“So?” 

“I bet I can go on more scary rides than you.” Donghyuck is leaning against the counter now, and Renjun can’t help but chuckle.

“Really? You think you can beat me at that?” Renjun crosses his arms and Donghyuck doesn’t stop grinning, as if he knows for sure he is going to win. Something inside of Renjun’s chest drops to his stomach, and he hates to admit that he really likes Donghyuck’s smile. “What are we betting?”

“Doing the other’s laundry for a month? I don’t really have money to spare,” Donghyuck suggests. Renjun sticks out his hand. “You sure you want to do this? No backing down.” It’s always the same statement, and Renjun’s answer is always the same.

“Of course,” he hums as they shake on it.

It’s a hot Saturday when they go to the carnival, and Renjun would much rather stay in his car where the AC is. However, when he spots Donghyuck walking towards his car, he hurries out, pretending he wasn’t sitting there for ten minutes with no plan on getting out. Donghyuck doesn’t seem to be enjoying the heat either.

“How about we just come back on a cooler day?” Renjun asks, the edge of his voice teasing, and Donghyuck quits tugging on the collar of his shirt. Renjun can’t stop his ears from twisting back, really hating this heat. 

“If that is what you want.” Donghyuck turns it around on him, and Renjun starts walking towards the carnival, leaving Donghyuck to follow him. 

There’s still a long line, mostly parents and kids. Trying to not focus on the kids complaining about the weather or shouting their excitement, Renjun tries to see what kind of rides there are. The last time he went to a carnival was when he lived back at home, and it only had the rickety wooden miniature roller coasters and a few slides. 

There’s a lot of screaming, and the rides are more than Renjun anticipated. None of them look too scary though. When they finally pay and get inside, he’s able to see the rides fully. Donghyuck nudges his shoulder.

“Is the little kitty scared?” he teases, grinning snarkily. Renjun taps his chin, watching as people go up a tall tower just to fall back down at a rapid speed. He glances at Donghyuck.

“What? Scared of these kiddy rides? Which are we starting on first?” Most of them seem like they could be fun. “I suppose we should start small first. To give you somewhat of a chance.”

“Yowch, okay.” Donghyuck wraps an arm around Renjun’s shoulders and begins to pull him along. “I know the perfect ride to start with.” 

They stop in front of a viking ship; the line, thankfully, is relatively short. Renjun watches it swing back and forth, and it only gets higher and higher. It doesn’t seem that bad. He glances over at Donghyuck, but he’s already looking at him, rocking on his feet, trying to see if Renjun is going to chicken out on the very first ride. 

“Let’s do it,” Renjun says as the ride slows down to a gradual stop. 

There’s not that many people going on it, and Donghyuck takes them to the very end of the ship. They’re seated close enough that their arms brush together. The safety bars come down and for a moment Renjun is worried about what is to come. Donghyuck glances at him, and the ride starts. 

Donghyuck pushes himself closer to Renjun. The ride isn’t that scary, granted Renjun isn’t paying much attention to how high the viking ship is swinging. He’s focusing more on how the hairs on his arm raise when Donghyuck lifts up his hands and shouts. 

“I hope that isn’t the scariest ride here,” Renjun says the moment they get off, finding himself excited to go on more. 

“Far from it sweet Renjunnie.” Donghyuck ruffles Renjun’s hair, and he hurriedly pushes his hand away, trying to find another ride. He ends up pointing at one that moves in an oval, the carts spinning. “You really wanna go on the zipper? That might be too much.” Despite his comment, Donghyuck starts walking towards it. 

“Okay, sure.” Renjun rolls his eyes as he bounds after Donghyuck. The line for this ride is longer, and the heat doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. Renjun wishes he gave in earlier for coming back another day. 

Renjun doesn’t notice the metallic bars on the carts until they’re about to get on. They sit down and the cage closes.

“This isn’t that bad,” Renjun comments as the ride begins, moving slowly at first, although he knows it is only going to get worse. 

“That’s what I told myself at first.” Donghyuck is relaxed, and Renjun wonders how much he has gone on this ride before. However, when it starts moving faster and spinning, Renjun isn’t sure who is screaming louder.

There’s barely a break between the rides, the two of them trying to psych the other out. The sun moves across the sky, and Renjun isn’t sweating as much as earlier. 

“Really? The teacups?” Renjun asks, watching as they spin. “This is probably the least scariest thing here.” 

“You never know. Sometimes the most unsuspecting things are the scariest,” Donghyuck tries to defend as the ride stops and people tumble out, dizzy. Renjun doesn’t think that statement really applies here, but he appreciates not going on something that brings him over 50 feet into the air. 

“There really isn’t anything scary here, huh?” Renjun hums, the ride beginning, but neither of them bother with spinning the teacup. He’s sitting across from Donghyuck, but he’s trying to think about what they could go on next, or just do next. 

“You really don’t think this could be terrifying?” Donghyuck shuffles, and Renjun’s eyes immediately zone in on him. They aren’t pressed together like for the majority of rides they’ve been on, but something about this makes Renjun’s ears relax. 

“No,” Renjun drags out, his fingers twitching. They both reach for the wheel at the same time, and their hands bump together. Warmth floods over Renjun’s hand and the two of them pause, staring at one another. He can hear Donghyuck’s tail thumping against the seat.

 _Huh,_ Renjun thinks the longer he looks at Donghyuck, the warmth slowly easing away from his hand. Whatever it is that is bursting in his chest feels nice, but the silence between them is beginning to grow uncomfortable. Before Renjun can say something, Donghyuck finally grabs onto the wheel and starts spinning it as fast as he can. Renjun nearly topples over, surprised at the sudden movement. Giggles escape him as he grabs onto the top of the teacup tightly, trying to keep himself from falling over even more. 

When they get off the ride, Renjun is the one helping Donghyuck maintain his balance, his hand wrapped around the other’s waist. 

Renjun doesn’t think about the bet. They avoid going on rides for a while and instead hop from carnival game to carnival game. He’s lost count as to how much money he’s spent on these games, and yet there is still nothing to show for it. Donghyuck is confident about everything he comes across, and his pouting and wagging tail is all that is needed to make Renjun cave. He never really thought dogs were cute, or maybe it’s just Donghyuck.

“One more?” Donghyuck asks when they reach the ring toss tent. “I’ll pay you back for all of this.”

“You know most of these games are rigged, right?” Renjun points out as he hands Donghyuck the money. Eagerly, Donghyuck pays the wolf hosting the station and gets five rings in return. 

“I just really wanted to get you a Moomin plush,” Donghyuck replies with a shrug, and he gets ready to toss one of the rings. Renjun looks up at all of the prizes offered, and he spots Moomintroll. He thought Donghyuck was just trying these for fun, or to waste his money. Oddly, he feels touched. 

“Damn. These games really are rigged,” Donghyuck groans, stepping away from the tent. Renjun glances at the bottles, only needing to make one ring to win a prize.

“Maybe you just suck.” Renjun hurries after Donghyuck, knocking shoulders with him. Donghyuck feigns to be offended, and the over exaggeration of it all makes Renjun snicker. 

They get cotton candy and try to find a ride that they haven’t been on yet. The only ones left are the ones meant for kids and the ones that just don’t seem any fun. Renjun really isn’t looking for anything to ride, the two of them standing close, their hands brushing every so often. He doesn’t get how the day changed to this, but Renjun can’t complain. Everything feels great.

“Wanna go on the ferris wheel or something? There really isn’t anything else left,” Renjun suggests, partially expecting Donghyuck to tease him. 

“Okay, sure,” he replies with a cheeky smile, purposefully knocking his hand against Renjun’s, ears perked. Renjun feels like he’s on a tightrope as he grabs Donghyuck’s hand and drags him over to the ferris wheel, all of the lights on it flashing. 

There’s nobody else on it at the moment, the carnival gradually clearing out. They sit across from one another, and the moment everything is ready, the ride begins. The cart rocks back and forth, but it isn’t anything compared to the other rides they’ve been on. 

The ferris wheel stops when they get to the top, and seeing all of the rides at night is, admittedly, beautiful. There’s colorful lights everywhere, but only a few rides are still going. Of the people still left, they look like small black splotches. 

Renjun looks at Donghyuck, expecting to see him taking in the sight of the carnival. Instead, he’s staring right at Renjun, his tail beginning to move. Upon being caught, Donghyuck leans back in his seat and tries to pretend he wasn’t just staring. It’s hard for Renjun to stop his smile.

“Y’know, I actually had fun today,” he hums, his tail sticking straight up, brushing against the seat. “I mean, I always have fun with you. Or whatever.” God, he doesn’t understand why this is so hard. There’s just something in the back of his head wondering about what will happen if Donghyuck isn’t thinking the same.

“Yeah. Me too.” The cart starts swinging again, and the ferris wheel continues moving, the overview of the carnival fading away. Donghyuck smiles widely, and something in Renjun’s chest drops to his stomach again. Slowly, Donghyuck’s foot starts playing with Renjun’s, his ears perked. Renjun starts pushing back against Donghyuck’s foot.

Everything feels young, and he wants to watch it grow with Donghyuck.

The carnival closes, but the two of them take their time leaving. They’re pressed close together, and Renjun is really tempted to just hold Donghyuck's hand due to how much they’re hitting against one another. The night is still fresh. 

“Well, I think I won that bet,” Donghyuck declares when they reach Renjun’s car. Renjun pushes Donghyuck away lightly, trying to ignore his giggling.

“Fuck you, no. How about we tied?” Settling for a loss against Donghyuck is something he will never do. 

Donghyuck hums, contemplating his answer. He steps closer to Renjun, tapping at his chin. His hand drops from his face and grabs Renjun’s hand, and maybe Renjun really should’ve just gone for it earlier. 

“Okay, but only because you’re cute.” Renjun is about to short circuit, only ever hearing Donghyuck tell him that when he is mad, and it’s just to rile him up even more. This just makes him purr.

“Whatever, I’ll take it.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading !!! i hope you enjoyed. im lowkey really attached to hybrid aus now though lmao.


End file.
